May the Lord be with you and bless you today.
Today’s Kindle deals include a trustworthy commentary on Matthew, an excellent study of 1&2 Thessalonians, and several other noteworthy books.
(Yesterday on the blog: What’s Going On In Your Pastor’s Mind?)
What Is the Gospel? A Surprisingly Contested Question
What is the gospel? It’s both the simplest and most complicated question to answer. Patrick Schreiner does a great job of it here. “My argument is that the gospel is a prophetic message involving a priestly mechanism with a kingly goal; namely, the arrival of God’s kingdom.”
Ambitious Goal Setter? Let’s Talk.
Dave Harvey talks to his fellow ambitious goal setters. “Are you an ambitious goal setter? I’m in your club, though I attend the meetings less often after crossing the threshold on my 6th decade. But part of me can still get excited by goals. I savor the satisfaction of crossing off tasks from a to-do list. Completing several objectives in a short period gives me an endorphin-fueled thrill, a kind of productivity high that’s hard to beat.”
Scrolling, Searching, Surrendering: My Digital Tug-of-War
“I often close Instagram or Pinterest feeling worse than when I opened them. Emptier. Guiltier. Behind.” I think this is often true for most of us.
Filthy Rags or Fragrant Offerings? How Does God View Our Good Works?
Does God view our good works as filthy rags or fragrant offerings? Many Christians struggle with this, which makes me thankful that Justin Dillehay chose to address it.
Dear Weary Caregiver
“Like you, I am a close companion to the blessings and challenges of caregiving. Maybe you are the primary caregiver to a spouse with a terminal illness. Perhaps you are caring for an aging parent with dementia. Or, like my wife and me, maybe you are the caregiver to a child with complex medical needs and profound disabilities.”
The Change Along the Way
This is a helpful reflection on the reality that there are no real shortcuts in life. “So often in youthful Christian vigour, we imagine that we can be as close to perfect as possible, in a very short period of time. Just obey the Word! It’s so simple! Why doesn’t everyone just do that?! But then we get knocked around by life, and we realise why. We, like Jacob before us, must be taught weakness.”
Flashback: Give Me a Faith Like His!
Joseph…knew that God had spoken, he knew what God had spoken, and nothing would dissuade him, nothing would compel him to reject what God had made abundantly clear.
Open transgression of God’s law slays its thousands, but wordliness its tens of thousands.
—J.C. Ryle
